Dummy lock core

ABSTRACT

A core assembly for use with a core housing of a lock assembly is defined by a bifurcated core body including interconnected first and second cylindrical members disposed in an abutting relationship. The bifurcated core body defines a first end received by an opening disposed in the core housing and a second end defining a substantially continuous surface. A slot is defined crosswise of the interconnected cylindrical members disposed between the first end and the second end of the interconnected cylindrical members. A catch is received in the slot defined by the bifurcated core body. The catch is biased outwardly from the slot for interlocking with the core housing irremovably securing the core body to the core housing.

PRIOR APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/834,533, filed Jun. 13, 2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a lock cylinder. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a universal dummy lockcylinder used to prevent ingress through a doorway.

BACKGROUND

Business owners and educators are subject to an increasingresponsibility to secure the facilities in which business andeducational services are conducted. This differs significantly from thepast when it was beneficial to have numerous points of access to afacility for convenience. Therefore, many access points are beingmodified to prevent ingress. However, while ingress in being restrictedor prevented, egress is still required for safety reasons.

Doorways that provide ingress and egress to these facilities have beenoutfitted with sophisticated lock systems. These lock systems eachrequire significant modification to prevent ingress while continuing toallow egress. These modifications have proven costly in terms ofmanpower and mechanical modifications to lock systems. Therefore, itwould be beneficial to provide a simple manner in which ingress tofacilities can be prevented while maintaining existing locking featuresallowing egress through the same doorway.

SUMMARY

A core assembly for use with a core housing of a lock assembly includesa bifurcated core body. The bifurcated core body includesinter-connected first and second cylindrical members defining adjacentcylindrical walls. The bifurcated core body defines a first end receivedby an opening in the core housing and a second end defining asubstantially continuous surface. A slot is defined crosswise of theinterconnected cylindrical members disposed between the first and thesecond end of the cylindrical members. A catch is received in the slotdefined by the first and second cylindrical members. The catch is biasedoutwardly from the slot for interlocking with the core housingirremovably securing the core body to the core housing.

The core assembly of the present invention allows for the easyreplacement of a removable core of a lock assembly using a master key ina known manner and replacing the removable core assembly with a “dummy”core body preventing entry through the doorway by way of a key. Once the“dummy” core body is inserted, it is irremovable from the door exteriorproviding security required of modern day facilities without requiringextensive modifications to the existing lock assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated,as the same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exploded, partial crossectional view of another aspectof the present invention;

FIG. 3-5 show sequential steps of inserting the dummy core of thepresent invention into interchangeable lock housing;

FIG. 6 shows the dummy core and catch secured to an interchangeable lockhousing;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the catch;

FIG. 8 shows an alternate catch; and

FIG. 9 shows a further alternative catch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a system by which a core 10 of the presentinvention is shown with lock housing 12 and a replaceable lock core 14.The removable lock core 14 includes a key way 16 disposed upon a face 18of the removable core 14. As is known to those skilled in the art, a key(not shown) is inserted into the key way 16 actuating pins (not shown)through pin holes 20 to actuate a lock assembly (not shown).

It should also be further understood by those of ordinary skill in theart that a master key inserted into the key way 16 provides the abilityto disengage the removable core 14 from the lock housing 12 byretracting a lug (not shown) into the removable core 14. Therefore, theremovable core 14 is displaced from the lock housing 12 without the useof a tool.

To prevent entry into the facility with the use of a key, the core 10 ofthe present invention is inserted into an opening 24 vacated by theremovable core 14. The dummy core 10 includes a bifurcated body 26having a first interconnected cylindrical member 28 and a secondinterconnected cylindrical member 30.

The bifurcated body 26 includes a first end 32 that is received into theopening 24 of the lock housing 12. The lock housing 12 defines a firstchamber 34 that receives the first cylindrical member 28 and a secondchamber 36 that receives the second cylindrical member 30. The dummycore 10 includes a second end 38 defining a substantially continuoussurface 40 having a similar configuration to the face 18 of theremovable core 14, absent a key way.

Referring now to FIG. 2, where a partial sectional exploded view showsadditional features of the present invention. The lock housing 12includes a face plate 42 that defines a shoulder 44 that abuts a door(not shown) when the lock housing 12 is in an installed position. Aplurality of threads 46 are disposed on an outer tubular surface of thelock housing 12 for threadably engaging the lock housing 12 to a lockassembly (not shown). The lock housing 12 includes a back wall 50defining a back aperture 52. It should be understood to those ofordinary skill in the art that the locking mechanism of the lockassembly is received through the back aperture 52 of the lock housing12.

A slot 54 is defined cross-wise of the interconnected cylindricalmembers 28, 30 between the first end 32 and the second end 38 of thecore 10. The slot 54 receives a catch 56, as represented in FIG. 3. Thecatch 56 bridges the first and second cylindrical members 28, 30 and isbiased outwardly from the slot 54 for interlocking with the lock housing12 as will be explained further herein below. The catch 56 iscontemplated to be a spring clip or flood resilient wire capable ofmaintaining an outward bias from the slot 54. Furthermore, the slot 54is described above as merely an exemplary embodiment. It should beunderstood to those of ordinary skill in the art that the slot 54 may bepositioned at different locations and configurations capable ofinterlocking with the lock housing 12.

The opening of a typical lock housing 12 includes a complementaryconfiguration to that of the core 10. An engaging tab or stop 58 isdisposed on an inner surface 60 of the lock housing 12. The engagementtab 58 is the inner termination point of lead 62 of the lock housing 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, once the removable core 14 is removed from the lockhousing 12, the core 10 of the present invention is inserted into theopening 24 from which the removable core 14 leaves vacant. The core 10is inserted without the use of tools.

FIG. 3 through 6 show sectional views of the steps by which the core 10is inserted and the catch 56 is secured against the engagement tab 58.FIG. 3 shows the core 10 being inserted into the core housing 12 justprior to the catch 56 contacting the lead 62. FIG. 4 shows the core 10being inserted into the lock housing 12 at a point which the lead 62 isdepressing the catch 56 allowing deeper insertion of the core 10 intothe lock housing 12. The catch 56 includes a camming surface 74 toassist the lead 62 with flexing or otherwise depressing the catch 56when initially contacting the lead 62. FIG. 5 shows the core 10 fullyinserted into the lock housing at which location the catch 56 is fullyengaged with the lead 62 irremovably securing the core 10 in the lockhousing.

The slot 54 defines an engagement channel 64 into which an extension 66of the catch 56 is received. The engagement channel 64 contains thecatch 56 in a desirable orientation in the slot 54 by way of aninference fit with the extension 66 of the catch 56. The first end 32 ofthe core 10 defines a channel 68 configured to receive a lock assembly(not shown) of various designs when the core 10 is inserted into thelock housing 12. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art that the channel 68 takes the form of a single channel, multiplechannels, or multiple configurations necessary to universally receivelock assemblies of various configurations. The receptor 68 interconnectswith the slot 54. The catch 56 includes a free end 70 spaced from theextension 66 by a catch body. The free end 70 of the catch 56 extendsinto the receptor 68 allowing freedom of movement of the free end 70during installation of the core 10 into the lock housing 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lead 62 flexes the catch 56 and forces the freeend 70 of the catch 56 into the receptor 68. Subsequent to installation,the catch 56 resiliently returns to its original position in the slot 54engaging the engagement tab 58 preventing the core 10 from being removedfrom the lock housing 12.

The present invention allows for a simple securement of a doorwaypreventing keyed entry into a facility without the use of tools. Itshould be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art thatalternative catch configurations and slot locations are within the scopeof the present invention. For example, while Corbin Ruswin replaceablecore housings have been shown throughout the application, the inventiveconcepts are also applicable to core housing produced by Medico,Schlage, Yale and Sargent. FIGS. 8 and 9 each show a profile of two suchdesigns. Although the profiles of these cores 10 differ from theexemplary description above, each of the features are similar. The catch56 extends outwardly from the slot 54 at a different location. In theseembodiments, the catch extends from one of the first and secondcylindrical members 28, 30 at a location providing enhanced engagementto an engagement tab (not shown) applicable to alternative lock housingdesigns (not shown).

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. The foregoing inventionhas been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards;thus, the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature.Variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may becomeapparent to those skilled in the art and do come within the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the legal protection afforded thisinvention can only be determined by studying the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A core assembly for use with a core housing of alock assembly, comprising: a bifurcated core body comprisinginterconnected first and second cylindrical members disposed in anabutting relationship, said bifurcated core body defining a first endreceived by an opening of the core housing and a second end defining acontinuous surface disposed externally to the core housing when saidcore assembly is received by the core housing with said continuoussurface preventing keyed entry; a slot defined crosswise of saidinterconnected cylindrical members disposed between said first end andsaid second end of said interconnected cylindrical members; and a catchreceived in said slot defined by said bifurcated core body, said catchbiased outwardly from said slot for permanently interlocking with thecore housing and irremovably securing said core body to the corehousing.
 2. The core assembly set forth in claim 1, wherein said catchcomprises a spring clip being biased outwardly of said slot.
 3. The coreassembly set forth in claim 2, wherein said spring clip includes a camface for forcing said catch inwardly of said slot during installation ofsaid core body into the core housing.
 4. The core assembly set forth inclaim 2, wherein said slot defines an engagement channel for receivingan extension of said spring clip for retaining said spring clip withinsaid slot.
 5. The core assembly set forth in claim 1, wherein said firstend of said bifurcated core body defines a receptor adapted to receive aplurality of lock actuators affixed to the core housing.
 6. The coreassembly set forth in claim 5, wherein said receptor defines a pluralityof channels comprising a universal receptor.
 7. The core assembly setforth in claim 1, wherein said catch engages a stop disposed upon saidcore housing.
 8. The core assembly set forth in claim 1, wherein saidslot bridges said first and said second cylindrical members.
 9. The coreassembly set forth in claim 1, wherein said slot is disposed in at leastone of said first and said second cylindrical members comprising saidbifurcated core body.
 10. A core assembly for use with a core housing ofa lock assembly, comprising: a bifurcated core body comprisinginterconnected first and second cylindrical members disposed in anabutting relationship, said bifurcated core body defining a first endreceived by an opening of the core housing and a second end defining acontinuous surface; a slot defined crosswise of said interconnectedcylindrical members disposed between said first end and said second endof said interconnected cylindrical members; a catch received in saidslot defined by said bifurcated core body, said catch biased outwardlyfrom said slot for interlocking with the core housing and irremovablysecuring said core body to the core housing; and said first end of saidbifurcated core body defines a receptor adapted to receive a pluralityof lock actuators affixed to the core housing and said slotinterconnects with said receptor.
 11. A core assembly for use with acore housing of a lock assembly, comprising: a bifurcated core bodycomprising interconnected first and second cylindrical members disposedin an abutting relationship, said bifurcated core body defining a firstend received by an opening of the core housing and a second end defininga continuous surface; a slot defined crosswise of said interconnectedcylindrical members disposed between said first end and said second endof said interconnected cylindrical members; a catch received in saidslot defined by said bifurcated core body, said catch biased outwardlyfrom said slot for interlocking with the core housing and irremovablysecuring said core body to the core housing; and said first end of saidbifurcated core body defines a receptor adapted to receive a pluralityof lock actuators affixed to the core housing, and said catch includes afree end extending from said slot into said receptor thereby allowingsaid catch to flex during installation of said bifurcated core body intothe core housing.